Greenwood and Leflore County might see some snow accumulation beginning Friday morning, and road crews are prepared for the worst.
There is a 20 percent chance of light rain or light snow after midnight tonight, according to the National Weather Service. The nighttime low will be in upper 20s with winds from 10 to 15 miles per hour.
There is a 30 percent chance of light snow Friday. The daytime high is expected to be in the upper 30s with wind chill readings ranging from 15 to 20 degrees.
“We’re expecting an area of light snow along the U.S. 82 corridor starting as early as 6 a.m. tomorrow morning. That will last through Saturday morning,” Thomas Winesett, a meteorologist with the weather service in Jackson, said this morning.
He said the Greenwood area could receive from “a dusting to an inch of accumulation” from Friday and lasting through Saturday morning.
“We’re monitoring the situation. We’ve got the salt ready,” said Greenwood Public Works Director Susan Bailey.
Leflore County Road Manager Jerry Smith said he and his crews had pea rock and salt ready, too: “We have everything ready to go. Sometimes we don’t know if it’s going to be water or snow.”
Rickie Corley, president of the Carroll County Board of Supervisors, said that county’s road crews stay prepared.
“We’ll put out salt on the bridges if we have to,” he said.
Nighttime lows Friday will be around 20 degrees.
Winesett said Saturday’s daytime high will be 35 degrees and Sunday’s high will be 41. Temperatures are expected to be back in the 60s by Tuesday, he said.
This is part of a menacing winter storm approaching the South that could bring freezing rain to states as far south as Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and up to 8 inches of snow in parts of North Carolina and Virginia, forecasters said.
They warned that even a thin layer of ice could make travel treacherous this weekend on highways just north of the Gulf Coast all the way to the eastern seaboard.
Winter storm watches today covered large parts of Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas ahead of the storm system that threatens to spread a wintry mix of rain, sleet and snow across the region.
“Certainly any snow down your way is significant because of potential disruptions to local traffic and all the activities throughout the Southeast,” said Mike Schichtel, lead forecaster at the federal government’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
Light to moderate snow could extend from central Alabama to southeastern Virginia late Friday into early Saturday, the Weather Prediction Center said in an advisory.
Parts of North Carolina could get 4 inches or more of snow, forecasters said. And there’s also a risk of 8 inches or more of snow in eastern North Carolina and southeast Virginia, the center said in an advisory.
The storm also brings the threat of freezing rain to parts of the Deep South including Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, Schichtel said. He urged residents to be on guard and pay close attention to forecasts and avoid driving if conditions deteriorate. It only takes a thin layer of ice to create havoc for all types of vehicles, he said.
“If you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle and you think you’re safe, you’re not,” Schichtel said of icy conditions. “Take it very seriously and adjust your travel plans accordingly. Even if the reports are for very minor icing, I would avoid the roads.”
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
